spare me as I'm gone
by midnightluck
Summary: Ace accidentally does a fairy a favor and gets a wish he didn't really want. What's he supposed to do with a real live fake Sabo on the Moby Dick anyway? Now featuring Sabo talking himself into a gift he didn't ask for, and what happens when a curse hits a blessing.
1. spare me as I'm gone

_Written for ammo121 who left it as a prompt on my tumblr. Title from Kate Rusby's Drowned Lovers.  
_

* * *

"Hey, you okay?" Ace asks, hitting his knees and sliding a few inches. "Are you hurt?"

The little kid looks up at him with big teary eyes and sniffs. Then she throws herself directly at Ace's chest and he catches her on instinct.

"Hey, now, little lady, you're safe now," he tells her, scooping her up and standing. She's so tiny, and so light. Probably not even ten yet, and her dress is torn and dirty. He runs his free hand down her tiny back and keeps babbling. "Hey, miss, it's over now. Don't you worry 'bout anything, okay? I gotcha."

He heads back up to the deck, keeping an eye out. The Whitebeards do good work, though, and all the enemies are down. Luckily the girl keeps her head tucked into his shoulder, and he'll take snot and tears over her seeing the carnage any day.

When they hit the deck, Vista looks up and sees Ace and the girl and blanches. "Nope," he says, and backs away. "Nope, no, that's on you." And he flees, because he's a coward who is scared of children.

That's fine, though; one of her hands is twisted in his hat string and he probably couldn't set her down even if he wanted to. Which he doesn't, of course; she's only just now stopped shaking. "You're so brave," he tells her hair, and even if it's only a distraction, it's enough. "Don't you worry, pretty lady, you'll be home safe in no time."

She hiccups and nods against him. He wraps his free arm around her and leans back to look at her face. "Hey, darling," he says, and gives her a smile. "You wanna do something cool?" She just looks at him, so he adds, "We're gonna fly a bit, okay?"

Her face lights up, and he tells her to put both arms around his neck and hold on tight. The gap between the ships isn't that big, but the _Moby Dick_ is much taller. He takes a few running steps, uses the railing as a launch point, and jumps for it.

She squeals with glee and he's careful on the touchdown, bending deep at the knees to make it smooth. It's worth it because she's laughing, and her voice is high and clear. "You're a sweetheart, aren't you?" he asks, stepping down from the railing to the deck. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

She gives him a shy look and then boots him in the solar plexus. He wheezes and folds over a bit but doesn't quite drop her. "Ow," he says, and the little hellion giggles at him, then raises her foot again, managing to miss him this time.

There's a bracelet on her ankle-no, a _shackle_ , and he still can't breathe but now it's out of anger. She shrinks from him, cringing in his arms, and he fixes his face immediately. "That's no bracelet for a pretty girl like you," he gets out, and touches it with a finger of fire.

It's not even seastone because his fire melts right through it; she doesn't even flinch from the heat, and he stops to let it cool then pries it off entirely. "Anything else?" he asks, and when she wiggles he sets her down.

She's barefoot on the deck, in her torn dress and dirty hair, but when she looks up and says, " _Mama_ ," it sounds like bells and psalms.

He kneels down and offers her a hand. "We'll find her," he promises.

She shakes her head. "Mama," she says again, and points behind him.

Ace glances back, then startles so hard he almost falls over. There's suddenly someone there, and she might be a woman because that's the only word that's even remotely close. She's ephemeral and grace incarnate, and he knows she is beautiful but he could never describe why.

His first instinct has him between this new person and the little girl, but then he remembers the way she said _mama_. And then he thinks of the way the little girl laughed and the metal shackle, and he looks at the newcomer and stands up straight.

"Lady," he starts, and keeps his shoulders back and his hands off the girl. "Might she be yours?"

The Lady looks at him, then reaches out a hand towards the girl. "She might be," she agrees, and oh, hell, word games? There goes any chance of this ending well.

Makino would tell them stories, sometimes, if they hung around long enough. Luffy liked the adventures and the tales of the seas, but Sabo'd liked the fairy tales. Ace knows just enough to know he really wishes that he'd paid more attention, or that Sabo was here to talk for him.

"I am glad she is safe," he says, slow and careful and thinking over every word before it leaves his mouth. There, that's safe enough, isn't it?

The Lady looks at him. "You are kind enough to rescue a child," she says, "and you remember the old warnings and heed them."

He only bows his head in acknowledgement and says nothing, because what do you say to that?

"And polite enough to know what not to say." the Lady says, and laughs. "You may claim a boon from me, child. What would you ask?"

And this, at least, he knows. He can't turn it down outright, because that is capital-R Rude, but fairy gifts are fickle and capricious. "Nothing for myself, Lady," he says, because if she hasn't given a name he sure as shit ain't asking for one. "Only for the health and wellbeing of the girl."

She's quiet a long moment, and he risks looking up at her. Finally she says, "You may have won a boon, mortal, but you have _earned_ my favor." Her fingers on his chin sear cold to his bones, and when she presses a kiss to his forehead his soul shakes.

She steps back and sweeps the girlchild into her skirts. "Your wish is granted," she says, loud and carrying, and it cracks like thunder. "Fare thee well, child, and bear my favor proud."

And she's gone.

Ace's knees give out and he hits the deck, shaking and shivering. He's cold, he's cold _inside_ , and his skin burns where she left her mark. There's hands on his back and shouting in his ears but everything is dark and spinning-

"Ace?" asks a voice he knows, a voice he can't ignore, a voice from memory and nightmares, and his head snaps up.

"Sa-" he says and then chokes on his hope, because it can't be, it _can't_ -

"What's going on?" Sabo asks, because it is him, truly-it's Sabo, just as Ace remembers him. He's short, with that missing tooth and a pipe in his hand and that dumb napkin 'round his neck.

"Sabo," Ace says, and grabs him into a hug. Sabo struggles a bit, but mostly for show; he gives up quickly and hugs him back.

"You okay, Ace?" someone else asks, and he finally looks up. There's a crowd of crew around him, with Marco in the lead and the other Commanders close behind. The second they see he's good, Marco asks, "Who was that, yoi? What happened?"

"She was a fae," Sabo says, voice only barely muffled by Ace's body. "The Lady of the Deeps. The girl was a changeling who'd gone wandering, and she'd been stolen back by those pirates."

"And who are you, then?" Thatch asks, finally stepping forward.

Ace lurches to his feet, keeping both hands on Sabo's shoulders. "This is my dead brother," he says, unable to take his eyes off blond hair and a lopsided grin.

But little Sabo shakes his head. "I'm a manifestation of a memory," he clarifies, "born of a wish and given form by fairy magic."

Because that's the fae all over; at their cruelest when trying to be kind. "But you're still Sabo," Ace says, and it's almost not a question.

Tiny Sabo tilts his head back to give Ace that _look_ and says, "Of course I am, Ace; don't be dumb."

And that's Sabo down to the very core, and Ace feels a wild grin spreading across his face. "You're the dumb one, idiot."

"You're the idiot, moron," Sabo bites back, and it's just like every long afternoon spent in forests long ago.

"I missed you," he says instead of continuing. "Sabo, I missed you so much."

Tiny Sabo looks at him, then glances around at the crowd. "So much so you forgot your manners, huh?"

Oh, right. "This is Thatch-" he starts with, because Thatch is the closest, but Sabo waves a hand.

"I'm from you, Ace," he says, "I know everything you do. I meant, introduce _me_ to _them_."

"Well, you coulda just said-"

Sabo steps on his foot and makes it hurt, and that's right, he'd forgotten how awful Sabo could be, hadn't he? "I hate you," Ace hisses, flinching back and trying not to hop. "That hurt!"

Sabo opens his mouth to retort but Thatch plops down next to him. "Hey," he says, and holds out a hand. "I guess you know me, but it's nice to meet you, Sabo."

Sabo grins and takes the hand, shaking it twice. "Pleasure's mine," he says. "Thank you for taking care of my brother. I know he can be a handful, but-"

Ace sputters and lunges for Sabo, who dances out of the way. "-but he's worth it!" Sabo finishes triumphantly, hiding behind Marco's legs.

"Get back here!" Ace yells, jumping for him and accidentally tackling Marco. Sabo laughs and dances away, and before Ace can get up to chase him a hand grabs his shoulder.

"You okay, yoi?" Marco asks. "I don't really get what happened, but you're not hurt, right?"

"I'm fine," he says, but Marco's looking at him calm and even, and Ace owes him more than that. He thinks about it, but his fire's burning hot as ever, and while his forehead still tingles it's no longer hurting. "I am fine," he repeats. And he is, of course, because, "I have Sabo back."

And he looks away and hurries to get up before he has to face the next question. He really doesn't want to think about _for how long?_

It's a question for later, because even from here he can hear Sabo telling a _blatantly untrue_ story to a fascinated audience of Second Division members. "-into the alligator pit," he's saying when Ace finally catches him.

"It's not true," he tells his subordinates quickly. "He's a liar; he lies! It's not true!"

"Someone's lying here, but it's not me," Sabo says, and Haruta reaches out to free Sabo from Ace's headlock.

"Oh, please," Haruta croons. "Tell us more."

Sabo grins. "Feed me and I will."

"Deal!" Haruta agrees, then takes his hand and bounces off, already hollering for Thatch.

* * *

They end up having a feast on the main deck that night, watching the stars come out together. Sabo's everywhere, talking to everyone, and Ace is right on his heels. He scoops up tiny Sabo only to be mauled viciously until he lets go, Sabo runs off, and then the cycle starts again.

Then the food comes out, and Thatch stops by with a huge platter of the best bits, just for Sabo. Ace tries to snag a bit and gets his hand slapped for it. "Hey!"

"That's for Sabo," Thatch tells him. "Have you seen how skinny he is? And also I like him better than you."

That doesn't even hurt because Ace likes Sabo better than himself too. "Yeah, well, we got our own food as kids," he says, trying to glare at the food Sabo's happily shoveling into his mouth. It's probably more of a yearning stare, though, because Thatch huffs at him and goes to fetch a second platter.

He hands it over and asks, "You got your own food?"

"Yeah, hunted it and everything." Ace says, and then takes his first bite. It's so good, just like always. He makes sure to swallow before he says, "Thanks." Then he dives back in.

And then he wakes up, face down in some mashed tuber dish. There's a quiet conversation going on over his head, and he blinks groggily and tunes in.

"We never starved," Sabo's saying. "If we couldn't catch anything, we could go into town for a dine and dash, or if we were real desperate we went back to our caretaker's. Sometimes I'd sneak food out of my house, but it was never much."

"I just thought he had a really fast metabolism," Thatch says just as quietly.

"That too," Sabo agrees, then pokes Ace in the ribs. "If you're not gonna eat that…" he says pointedly, and Ace glares at him and stuffs his face furiously.

Sabo's laugh is exactly as he remembers it, but then, it would be, wouldn't it? Just another reminder that this Sabo isn't his to keep, and his mood plummets.

"I'm gonna go make some hot chocolate for everyone," Thatch says suddenly, standing. "I'll bring some out when it's ready."

It's a poor excuse to leave, but if Ace gets hot chocolate out of it, he really can't complain. He nods, and a bit of tuber mash falls off his face.

Sabo tsks at him and produces a handkerchief from...somewhere. "Your face is a mess," he says, and Ace grumbles but lets tiny Sabo climb up onto his lap to dab at his face.

It doesn't take long, and then they're left, quiet and staring, in each other's presence.

Finally Ace asks the bitter question that's been behind his teeth all night. "How long?"

Sabo sighs and says, "Not much longer. It's up to you, but it has to be soon."

"What do you mean?" Ace asks, but he doesn't need to.

"You have to set me free, Ace," Sabo says. "I know you know how."

Ace does, is the thing, and it's all Sabo's fault. Sabo and his stupid fairy tales, he thinks, but he remembers the rules. Always be polite. Take nothing. Give no offense. A fae creature's contract ends when gratitude is given.

"I don't want to," Ace says instead. "Sabo." But it's not enough, so he repeats, " _Sabo."_

"I can't be here come dawn," Sabo tells him quietly. "Ace. You know this. Let me go."

"No," Ace says. "I only just got you back-I can't."

And Sabo smiles at him, slow and gentle. "Of course you can. You never needed me, Ace. Not like I needed you."

"Of course I did-"

"Look around you," and Ace does. "Look, Ace. You have a family. You have a father you respect. You have a home and a place and a purpose, and you did it all on your own." He places his small hand on Ace's cheek and leans in until their foreheads touch. "You don't need me, Ace. So let me go."

There's tears in his eyes when he chokes on the words, but he gets out, "Thank you. Thank you, Sabo. _Thank you_. You were my friend when I had no one and my brother by choice. You didn't hate me for my name, and you took care of Luffy and taught me how to be a big brother and I _miss you,_ Sabo." And Sabo smiles like he knows, but he's also drifting apart like a dream and Ace tries to hold him closer as he says, quiet and desperate, "Thank you for loving me."

When he opens his eyes, Sabo's gone, and all he has in his hands is glowing dust and empty hopes.

* * *

What Ace doesn't know is that while his boon is ended, he has a debt to call on. Roger and Rouge left him that much. Not one big enough to cause the Lady to manifest, not even big enough for demand repayment, just enough to be noted. Roger left out saucers of milk constantly and thanked her for safe passage, and Rouge would cast her flowers to the current with a charm on her lips. Little things, passing things. Habitual tribute that was never enough to cause change or demand recompense.

Not until their son stands before her, strong and shattered and careful, so very careful. He doesn't keep the old ways, not like they did, but he's polite and defers her boon onto one of her own. He earns her favor, and the boon she grants is his thoughtless wish.

So it's the Lady that makes a memory real. It's the Lady who breathes life into a wish and the gratitude of a mortal that shatters it, but it's the energy of a thousand nights of sustenance and a hundred blessed petals that sustains a single shining mote as it floats, high and fast towards a host that's almost similar.

It comes to Sabo in a dream, like a dream, fleeting and fed on whispers and wishes, and he opens his eyes to dawn and hope.

* * *

When he steps out onto the deck, the sunlight almost blinds him. He blinks it away and squints around.

The deck is chaos. There's crew everywhere, rushing back and forth with buckets and ropes and barrels, and it's the type of specialized frantic that heralds special guests. Marco's over to the side, directing, and Ace meanders in that direction.

"We expecting someone?" he asks, leaning beside Marco and hiding a yawn. "I didn't hear about anyone dropping by."

Marco gives him a quick assessing look, and Ace gives him a small nod. He feels empty and scraped clean, but in a good kind of way, so it's fine. His fire's still burning and his forehead feels like the Lady never touched it.

"Kinda last minute," Marco says. "We got a call this morning from the Revolutionary Army, yoi. Apparently their second in command has an urgent message for us."

"Really?" Ace asks. "Huh. I wonder what it could be."

"Who knows?" Marco says, shrugging. "Could be anything."


	2. make me a wreck as I come back

_less a continuation than a kinda companion concept-reversal?_

* * *

The thing about confidence, Sabo thinks bitterly, is that the only time it's not arrogance is when you can back it up.

Well, this is what he gets for going into things blindly. The mark isn't the dumb minion they thought he was, and Koala's still outside.

"You may as well surrender," Sabo says, lungs heaving but pipe steady. "We've got you cornered."

The guy just looks at him. "You lie," he says. "And it wouldn't matter if you didn't."

That's-well, worrying. "You're right on both counts," Sabo concedes, "but it doesn't matter, because I'll be more than enough."

"I'd like to see you try," he says, so Sabo grins and spins in close. He swings a high round, but it's baiting, and sure enough the guy gets up a hand to redirect so he pivots off his toes, twists from the hips and slams the pipe straight down instead.

The guy's smile turns sour and his face flashes into something else altogether. " _Iron_ ," he hisses, and Sabo hesitates a second and falls back a step. That's not the usual reaction he gets when his pipe touches skin.

"It's steel, actually," he says. Well, lies, really; he doesn't know what the pipe is made of, only that he coated it in powdered seastone.

The look the guy gives him is cat-eyed and creepy, and Sabo adds that to iron and backpedals hard. "You're not from the Committee at all, are you?"

The guy also takes a step back. "The what?"

"The Committee," Sabo says, letting his pipe fall out of the line of sight. "We were supposed to meet someone here, and-" he fades off into a gesture instead of top secret details.

"I am not," the guy says, pulling himself up to his full height, which seems about a foot taller than was previously possible. "And I have no time for your games."

Right, okay, that's-this is fine. Sabo quick-steps back a bit and sweeps off his hat with his free hand. "I meant no offense," he says, talking fast and trying to remember stories from long ago in a voice he's long since forgotten. "If any was taken, it was given in error!"

The really not-human thing pretending to be a guy stops looming and starts listening, and that's the only opening Sabo needs. "Offense was given freely," he says, and Sabo shakes his head.

"I had thought you another," he says. "I mean no disrespect to you or yours, really." He'd offer to make amends but he knows better than to give an opening like that, and the only other thing he has to pull from is one exchange of blows. "You are an honorable opponent," he tries because it's all he's got.

The far-too-big eyes narrow at him and that pupil is slit vertical, yeah, that's not human at all. "You burned me," he says.

"I humbly beg pardon for my trespass," Sabo says, but his chin is up and his eyes are steady. "I had thought you a foe." And then he takes a chance and adds, "I would that I were wrong."

There's a beat and then the creature says, "Oh, I _like_ you," and it's not a compliment. "In fact, I like you _so much_ I think you deserve a gift."

Ah, yeah, no. How to refuse delicately…? "Surely I've done nothing to warrant such a gesture," he says, careful not to flash his teeth.

That grin is bright and sharp and nasty, and he says, "That's why it's a _gift_. Freely given, of course." And then he turns on his heel and is gone.

No smoke, no sound, nothing-just a blink and empty space, and a small shudder spreads across his skin.

"Koala," he says, and heads for the door. What if the thing went outside, what if-?

He doesn't make it because the breath's punched out of him. There's nothing visible, just force against his diaphragm and lungs, paralysing him and he falls to his knees and he can't breathe and there's a blinding headache unfolding behind closed eyes and oh it _hurts_ -

-but only for a second. Then he's on all fours, gasping and just barely stopping the retches from pulling up bile. The headache fades into a quiet kind of awful down at the back of his mind and there's a soreness in his ribs and footsteps right in front of him.

He jerks backwards, overbalancing and sitting down heavily, but the feet are tiny and so is the kid standing there. "What," Sabo says, for lack of anything better, and there's an awful taste like ozone lingering in his mouth.

The kid sighs and props a hand on his hip. "What'd you do _now_ , Sabo?" he asks.

Sabo blinks at him, but just then the door slams open and Koala steps into the gloom of the warehouse. She blinks, looks around, and then locks eyes on the kid. "You okay?" she asks Sabo.

"There was…" Sabo starts, and then takes a breath and sits up straight, tucking his legs into a tailor seat. "There was a fairy?"

Koala gives him a look for that, but the kid nods. When they both glance at him, he sighs. "Still doing stuff without thinking it through, I see," he says, and then turns to Koala and bows. "Hi! I'm Ace; it's very nice to meet you."

She bows back, probably more out of instinct, but at least she doesn't give him her name. "Nice to meet you too," she says. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"There really was a fae," Ace tells her. "And Sabo pissed him off, so the guy ripped out his memory into a person."

Sabo blinks at him once, breathing. He doesn't remember this kid at all, so it can't be his memory. Unless…

"Sabo pissed off a fairy?" Koala asks, and he knows that tone, that's the I-promise-I'm-not-laughing-at-you voice that means she's really laughing at him a lot. "How'd he manage that?"

Ace just raises his eyebrows and tilts his head. "How do you think?" he asks disgustedly. "He opened his mouth, that's how."

Well, that's hardly fair. "I didn't-" Sabo starts to say, but Koala laughs and steps forward to ruffle the kid's hair.

"I like you," she says. "You can stay."

Because the kid knows his name and clearly knows Sabo well enough to to be exasperated, and that's not nothing. "I don't know you," Sabo says anyway, and the kid-Ace-turns.

"You-" he says, and stops. He closes his eyes and breathes and then opens them again. "You forgot us," he says quietly. "You _forgot_ us, Sabo; you forgot me and Luffy and-" and he can't finish, turning his face away and clenching small fists.

It hurts his heart, kind of, which is weird because he doesn't know the kid, he doesn't, and he shouldn't care, but, "I forgot a lot of things," he says flippantly, because it's not an excuse but it is a reason.

Ace turns back to him, sudden and sharp, and his chin comes up and his eyes flash. He walks forward, purposefully, right into Sabo's personal space, and Sabo lets him. The kid goes in like he's going to hold Sabo's face, and then his hands go further back and he grabs Sabo's ears instead.

"You," he says, while Sabo squawks and flails wildly, "are an idiot. Now listen up, cause I'm only gonna say this once." and he drags Sabo's head forward by the ears and slams their foreheads together to stare directly into his eyes. "We're your brothers, Luffy and I, and even if you forgot us, we never forgot you. My name is Portgas D Ace and if you forget it again I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Okay, okay!" Sabo says, probably too loud, and he swings up and over, using the kid's arms as runways to pluck the hands off his ears. It hurts, but Ace ducks and steps back on his left foot, which is the perfect dodge to his usual follow-up hook. Which he didn't throw this time, because it's still a kid, geeze, but still. "You're Ace! I'll remember!"

Ace huffs. "And while you're at it, remember the rest of your life. You _forgot_ , how are you that careless? Don't misplace your memories again, idiot."

And Sabo sighs and rolls his eyes. "That's not how it works, Ace," he says, because that always happens; it's not that Ace misunderstands so much as he interprets things differently. "You know what amnesia is, stop trying to sound smart."

"I am plenty smart!" Ace yells at him, tiny arms flying up. "It anyone here's not smart, it's you!"

"Hey now," Koala says, "Just because it's true is no reason to be nasty."

"True-!" Sabo splutters, and they both ignore him.

"You're good," Ace tells Koala. "I like you. Thank you for being a reasonable person."

Koala grins real big at him, and Sabo can see the way her fingers are twitching. She probably wants to glomp him. Ace bites, but he's not about to tell a traitor like her that. Let her find out for herself. "You're a cutie," she says instead. "Hey, tell me about tiny Sabo. Was he always like this?"

"Yes, Ace says promptly, then squints. "Wait, like what? Hardheaded, with a sharp tongue and a temper to match? Yeah, no, he came that way."

"I'm Koala," she says, sticking out her hand. "You're a blessing."

He takes it and bows over it and Sabo nearly chokes on his tongue. "When did you learn manners?"

"It wasn't from you," Ace bites back and straightens. "I know who you are, Koala," he adds. "I am kinda from him, after all. He thinks you're nice."

Sabo explodes forward out of his seat to try to tackle Ace. "Shut up!" He howls. "I totally don't! Ace, no! Come back here, Ace!"

Koala scoops Ace up instead and props him on her hip. Ace lets her, the little bastard, and makes a face at him over her shoulder. "Come on back to the ship with us," she says, "and tell me all of Sabo's dirty little secrets, won't you?"

"Of course," he tells her, smiling angelically.

"No!" Sabo cries, and runs after them.

He never had a chance, though; he's got stamina, but Koala's a sprinter. She keeps a few steps ahead of him, even with tiny Ace in her arms, whispering awful lies to her. Sabo catches a few words here and there, mostly things about lion pits and alligators and that one time with the cliff and the stream and that was Ace, not Sabo at all, the little liar.

"I hate you," he calls at them, but Koala just laughs and keeps going.

And as Sabo runs, he finds himself laughing. _A gift_ , the creature had said, and meant it as a curse, but it isn't really. He may not remember everything, but this is good.

Even if he doesn't remember everything, he knows that.

He catches up to them on the deck of the little schooner he and Koala came here in. Koala laughs and sets Ace down, and when he swoops in to grab Ace, the brat kicks him in the shins and runs some more.

Sabo lets himself fall over onto the deck in a dramatic swoon. "You've hurt me," he says, clutching his chest. "You hurt my heart."

"Get up," Ace says, but he comes to check on Sabo anyway, like Sabo knew he would. That puts him well within grabbing distance, and Sabo easily tackles him into a hug.

"Lemme go!" Ace says, fighting madly, but Sabo just hugs him tighter.

"Nope," he says. "I just found you again; why would I want to let you go?"

Ace grumbles but stills in his arms, and Sabo squeezes once more and then sets him down. "You're the worst," Ace says once he's back on the deck. He straightens his oversized shirt and crosses his arms.

"No, you are," Sabo says, sticking out his tongue. "And this headache you gave me just won't go away."

Ace is unrepentant. "Small price to pay for my presence," he declares, nose in the air. "Consider it a gift."

"Yeah, sure, thanks," Sabo says, and for all he gives it a sarcastic lilt, he means it.

"Oh," Ace says, and turns to look at him. "Oh, you-I wasn't ready."

"Ready for what?" Koala asks, and Ace holds up a hand. It's glowing and breaking apart. "You're leaving already?"

"I was a curse," Ace answers. "Made from spite. Spite is strong but short in people like the fae."

"And I thanked you," Sabo says, because if Ace isn't gonna point out his failing, he will. "Fairy creatures contract can be broken with gratitude, freely given."

Ace looks at him with sad eyes but won't confirm it, and Sabo knows he's trying to make him feel less guilty. That'll never work, but he can let Ace think it did. He gives a small smile.

"Stop that," Ace says, reaching up to shove a small hand into his face. "Don't smile like that, Sabo. It hurts."

"Sure," Sabo says, and picks Ace up. He's so light, all glow and dreams.

"Love ya, bro," Ace says, and his smile is more blinding than usual. And then he shatters into glitterlight, and Sabo's hands close on nothing but air.

Koala stands behind him and rests one palm on the back of his shoulder. She says nothing, which is the exact right thing to say.

Sabo stares forward, not crying and not breathing and not moving. Finally he blinks himself out of it. "Hey," he says, leaning back just the slightest bit into the comfort his partner is offering. "Hey, the _Moby Dick_ 's still in Paradise, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Koala says. "Last I heard, over at Frangibelle Island."

That's not that far at all, really. "Think Dragon would mind if we were a bit late?"

And Koala lets her hand drop and says, "I'll make him understand."

"Thanks," he says, still staring forward. "You're the best."

"I am," she allows. "But it's not for you; I wanna meet him, too."


	3. your dreams are wondrous strong

_I think this is the last part of this; for everyone who wanted a reunion. Title is a slightly botched quote from the same song, The Drowned Lovers by Kate Rugsby, although how I got them in reverse order i'm sure I don't know._

* * *

Ace steps off the gangway and onto the dock. The ground is steady under his feet and it takes him a second to adjust, but the salt in the air is as familiar as ever. He glances around the docks, but all the slips are full up and he doesn't get but a once-over before an arm gets slung across his shoulders.

"Where're you off to, then?" Thatch asks, propelling him forward. "We've got 'til they get here, so stores? Bars? Restaurants?"

Ace grins at him, then plants his back foot and ducks his head. Thatch's arm slides right off, and Ace laughs at him and the look on his face.

"Something like that," he says, even though his plans are nothing like that at all. "You?"

Thatch grimaces and says, "Do you have any idea how much food it takes to feed all of you, even without company coming? I'm off to the markets. I'm always at the markets. The sheer volume of food you, specifically, go through, personally offends me, and-"

Ace makes noncommittal humming noises and lets the monologue wash over him. He follows Thatch anyway, right up until town, and then he slides sideways into the trees while Thatch waves wildly and yells something about cheeses.

It's soothing, out in the trees, in a way that no ship ever has been. There's greenery everywhere and he can track the wind by the leaves. There's sounds, too; there's birdsong and quiet plant rustling, and a bit of turned earth next to marks in the dirt that he knows means a boar is around.

It's easy to follow, big and blatant, probably because it doesn't have much to fear on such an island as Franjibelle. It's a mild day, pleasant out, and Ace loses an hour or so to tracking. It's nostalgic, and by the time he catches up to the animal, he's deep in the woods. Everything is quiet forest noises and the boar snuffling and the familiar sound of Sabo pacing his steps just out of sight. It's like any hunt from ages back, and he falls into the pattern easy as blinking.

He always starts by going left, and he does this time, too. He falls from the branch and spooks it right. It squeals and rears enough that he's sure it's a female, and then turns and runs.

Ace knows this dance, though, and when it hits Sabo and he turns back left, Ace is already in place and waiting. He's got fire now, and it's easy enough to surround it with a ring. Then it's a simple matter of finding the weak spot of the skull, and his eyes trace the lines from ears to opposite eyes, and then it's just a matter of spinning his dagger hilt into the spot those lines cross.

Everything is fire and noise and danger for a swirl, and then he's bleeding her out and making sure she stays down. He takes a second to thank her as her eyes go glassy, and doesn't even blink when boots thud down next to him.

"The fire's new," Sabo says, and Ace looks up into scars and a smile he knows like breathing.

"Oh," Ace says, and if his hands weren't busy supporting the boar's head, he'd probably punch that smug face. "What," he says instead, knees in the dirt.

"Hey, remember a few days back?" Sabo asks, swinging his pipe out of the way and falling to sit next to him. "When you accidentally wished a memory-me into being?"

Ace squints over at him. "So I'm dreaming this time?" he asks. "Or just hallucinating? I don't think I pissed off any other fae recently."

"I don't think you pissed one off at all," Sabo says mildly. Ace wipes his hands off and tucks his dagger back away. "Seemed more like a favor to me."

"You'd know," Ace says and heaves the boar up and over his shoulder. "Being made of magic and all."

"I'm not," Sabo says, still sitting. "I'm actually here, Ace."

"Of course you're not," Ace says, trying a step to see if he can manage. He shifts it a bit until the weight distribution isn't throwing him off and then keeps going. "You're kinda dead."

Sabo finally moves, planting one palm in the dirt and using it to pivot both feet under him in a movement they both learned from Gramps. Ace turns his eyes away and glances up. He's lost quite a bit of time, according to the sun, but they hadn't intended to leave until nightfall anyway so he's got plenty of time to get back to the ship and offer Thatch his boar as an apology gift.

"I'm not dead," Sabo says, falling into step but not reaching out to help. "You think a little thing like fire could kill me?"

Ace fixes his eyes on the ground ahead of him, picking his path and not looking at the specter walking beside him. "You did kinda blow up," he points out reasonably. "And if that didn't get you, the drowning would have. The scars are new, though."

"Mmhmm," Sabo says, sticking both hands in his pockets. "Got 'em from that time I didn't die."

That's reasonable, as far as justifications go, but Ace knows better than to get his hopes up. "Sure," he says, "but I see your hat made it through just fine."

The fake Sabo huffs and tugs the brim of his hat. "It's a new one," he says, which is a blatant lie if ever Ace heard one. "You wouldn't believe how much it cost to get it made."

Ace shakes his head and keeps walking. He's done arguing with the shade of his dead brother, and the fake Sabo's silence is as comforting as the real one's was. He even walks with his eyes turned the way Ace's aren't, just like the real Sabo would've. "How's Luffy?" he asks instead.

Sabo lights up and talks with his hands, just like he used to. Whatever is causing this illusion, it's really thorough, but so was the last one. In any case, he seems to know a lot about Luffy, and Ace whistles at his baby bro's new bounty.

Not-really-Sabo shifts into a story of Luffy visiting Lougetown that takes them all the way back to the forest's edge, finally winding it up with a quick, "-and then he got them back to ship and they tore outta there," in just enough time for Ace to skid down a slope and land right beside the small group of Commanders standing on the side of the road.

"Hey!" Ace says cheerfully, swinging the boar around and down at Thatch's feet. "Look what I brought you!"

Thatch stares at it, then at Ace. "Why," he asks flatly.

Ace blinks back. "You were complaining about the cost of food. I thought I'd help."

"So you pulled a disappearing act that gave us all heart attacks and went off into the woods without telling anyone so you could hunt a boar alone, yoi," Marco says.

Ace looks down at it and them back up at Thatch. "Do you not know how to cook boar? It's pretty easy."

"Do I-" Thatch closes his eyes and brings a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose. "That's not the _point,_ Ace."

"I can help," Ace offers, reaching out a hand. "It's better slow-roasted, but-"

"Don't do it like that-" Sabo starts, reaching out, and Ace steels his nerves and doesn't flinch. It's fine; the hand'll pass right through-

Sabo's fingers catch on Ace's wrist, and the world flips inside out.

* * *

There's a whole bunch of strange people who are taller than him, and Ace hisses on instinct and puts his back to Sabo's.

"Who're you?" Sabo's asking, and Ace tenses further. It's Sabo who knows people, but he apparently doesn't know these guys and that spells trouble.

"What?" one of the strangers says, leaning in to loom over them. "What just happened?"

"Sabo?" asks one with weird hair, crouching down down get closer, and then his gaze switches. "Ace?"

Ace hisses again and Sabo tenses. "Those aren't our names," Sabo says, taking a step back.

"Of course they are," the first one says again, and throws his arms out. "You think we don't recognize you?"

Ace flinches and Sabo glares, and they both back up another step.

"C'mon, yoi," says the second, still on the ground. "Let's get you back to the ship. Maybe Pops will know something-"

Sabo's hand flies to Ace's wrist, and they both turn and bolt.

" _Hey!"_ someone yells from behind them, but Ace puts his head down and runs. He doesn't know where they are; this forest isn't familiar. It's still a forest, though, and he knows those better than any stupid adult.

They make the tree line and keep going, and both make for the first big bush to break line-of-sight. It's sitting on the edge of an incline, and Ace takes the turn too sharp and slides down just a bit..

Sabo's hand is still on his wrist, though, and Ace pulls, scrambling upright and planting a hand on the ground to get enough momentum to turn the fall into a swing. Sabo drags him up and around as they make a hard left and keep going further into the forest.

The trees here aren't as tall or as dense as the ones he knows, and Ace decides climbing them'll be a pain. They probably won't have to, though, because it doesn't seem like anyone's caught up with them.

They slide into a small ditch, just a shallow holler below ground level, and they stop to catch their breath.

"You think we lost 'em?" Sabo asks, and Ace holds his breath for a second to listen.

"Yeah," he says. "I think we did."

Sabo nods, then starts going through his pockets. "Where are we?"

"I dunno," Ace says, going through his own. He's got a sharp rock, a handful of coins, a half-empty box of matches, and a band-aid-everything that he should have. Sabo's turned up a knife and a handkerchief and some other odds and ends.

Ace squints up at the sky. "We're gonna need shelter soon," he says; the sun's dipping low. "And food."

Sabo nods. "Hunting? I don't have my pipe…"

Ace doesn't either, and they don't have time to make traps, not when they don't even know if anything around here is worth trapping. "Let's keep moving," he says. "There were people, so there's gotta be a town."

"Hunt to hunt," Sabo agrees, their shorthand term for making towards a town while trying to find something else on the way.

They scramble out of the ditch and Ace looks around, trying to get a feel of the land. Sabo stands back and lets him. Ace knows forests better and they both know it.

Given what they ran past getting here and the pattern of the underbrush, the thicker part of the forest is back that way, so he heads the opposite way, and readjusts as they go. There were people, so there's bound to be some kind of town or something, and chances are it's not in the forest.

Sure enough, by the time the sun's sunk a thumb's-width towards the horizon, they've broken out of the forest and found the outskirts of a settlement just a bit away. It's too big to be a village but not quite big enough to be a city.

Ace makes the swirl-over-eyes gesture that means _scope out a soft target_ and Sabo nods once, sharp, and disappears down a side street. Ace sticks both hands in his pockets, hunches his shoulders, and works his way into the market area.

The crowds aren't as big as he'd like, but he's small and quick and knows how to be invisible.

"Gotcha!" the redhead yells, bodyslamming Ace into the ground.

He's got a couple feet and a lot of weight on Ace, but Ace has no shame and fights dirty. He sinks his teeth into the closest limb and uses his nails as claws. The man squirms and yells, and Ace gets his legs free.

It's enough, and he's scrambling away before he's even upright. There's a flash of blue on the other side of the square and he starts for it. "Sa-!"

His legs are still pumping, but he's not moving forward anymore. He's moving upwards instead, being lifted by his collar from behind.

He hisses and spits and swings both arms over his head to get his nails into the wrist supporting him. It does no good, though; he can feel flesh yielding beneath his fingers but the perpetrator just keeps him aloft. "Can you not, yoi?" the person behind him asks.

"I can kick your face in," Ace hisses back and squirms harder. "Lemme go!"

"What'd we ever do to you?" Sabo is yelling as a moving chunk of shiny white stone stomps over to them, Sabo in hand. "Put us down!"

"After we went through all this trouble to catch you?" the redhead says, one hand over his eye. "Damn, kid; you've got good aim."

Yes, yes Ace does, but he just huffs and crosses his arms. He doesn't have to accept compliments from kidnappers.

"Why are you after us?" Sabo asks, still dangling, and oh, that's something Ace hadn't thought to ask. "Neither of us are worth anything."

It's a good thing Ace knows to let Sabo do the talking, cause he'd never sell a lie that big.

"You're not?" the person holding Ace asks. "Neither of you?"

"Street brats," Sabo says, grinning a sharp grin. "No money, no bounty, no ransom, no useful skills. So you may as well let us go."

The redhead huffs. "I _know_ you're lying and I still can't tell."

"He doesn't lie!" Ace lies, struggling again.

The person holding him shakes him, just a bit, and says, "We've got to get them back to the ship somehow, yoi. Anyone got any rope?"

"I've got cuffs," the redhead says, stepping forward. "Not the right size, but they'll do if we run."

"I am _not_ chasing them all over this island again," the first guy says. "Cuff them."

"No, _no-_ " Sabo starts scrabbling at the stone arm holding him, trying it climb it to get away from the cuffs. "No, don't, no-!"

Ace doesn't have the same issue with handcuffs that Sabo does, but he fights just as hard for the exact same reason. "No! I'll go quietly! I'm the one you want anyway, don't put those on him-!"

But it's too late. One is clicking into place on Ace's wrist while the redhead slips the other onto Sabo's ankle.

The moment the metal touches skin, though, the world pops in place and turns right-side in.

* * *

Ace hits the ground face-first, one arm over his head, and groans. He tries to ask what's going on, but all he accomplishes is a mouthful of dirt.

There's an answering groan, though, and Ace goes to push himself up. His hand won't retract, though, so he tugs hard and looks up in just enough time to catch a boot to the face.

"What?" someone asks just as he yelps "ow!" and several someones laugh.

He groans and rolls over to his back. The sky is nice, at least. The sky isn't mocking him.

"Ace?" A head pops into his field of vision. "Is that you?"

He doesn't know the voice, but he knows the cadence, he knows the way his name sounds, and he knows that damn hat. "Sabo?!" he squeaks, sitting upright.

His forehead slams into Sabo's chin and they both recoil. "What the hell, Ace!" Sabo yells.

"What the _hell_ , Sabo!" Ace says back, sitting up more carefully. "Aren't you _dead?"_

"Only as dead as your common sense," Sabo snaps, and Ace goes to cross his arms and yanks hard enough that Sabo yelps and falls flat as his foot going flying. Ace looks down to see the handcuffs connecting his wrist to Sabo's ankle. Huh.

That explains the kick. Ugh, he's gonna have a headache all night, isn't he? Sabo's giving him that _look_ and Ace groans and flops back over. "What even," he says.

This time it's Marco who leans in to block his view of the sky. "You okay, yoi?"

"No," Ace says, but Sabo is here, so also, "yes," but also he's lost and his head hurts, so probably, "no."

"Make up your mind," Sabo says, but he scoots over enough to sit next to Ace and work his fingers into Ace's hair, so he can't be too mad.

"Are you a wish again?" Ace asks, reaching up to touch.

"Nah," Sabo says, and gives him that small fleeting smile that means he's truly happy. "I got a wish, too. Well, kinda."

"I bet you got cursed."

Sabo huffs. "I did not," he says. "I was given a gift, just like you."

The sun's blocked as someone crouches down towards them. "Hey," he says, and it's Thatch. "So this is Sabo, all grown up, huh?"

"Pleased to meet you!" Sabo says, dipping his head. "Or, well, it's good to see you again?"

"I'm sure it is," Marco says, hands on his hips as he looks down at them. "Now, how about we do this somewhere besides the middle of the town square?"

Is that where they are? Ace looks around and finds that, yeah, they are, and there's a lot of whispering and pointing going on. He sighs and bats at Sabo's hands until he can sit up. At least the headache's lessened.

"Don't suppose you've got the key for these, have you?" Sabo asks Thatch, gesturing at the handcuffs they're both still wearing.

"Depends," Thatch says, producing said key. "You gonna run away again if I unlock 'em?"

Ace very carefully doesn't look at Sabo. "No," he says, holding out his arm.

"Of course not," Sabo says disdainfully, straightening his leg.

Thatch sighs but goes ahead and uncuffs them. Ace huffs and stretches, and Sabo gets up neatly. He turns to Ace and offers a hand up.

Ace meets his eyes and takes it, and his lips quirk. Yeah, they're thinking the same thing. "You forgive me?" Sabo asks.

"I'm the one who's sorry," Ace replies, and Sabo pulls him to his feet, already turning."Meet you back at the ship," Ace says to the Whitebeards, and he takes off after Sabo.

A whole chorus of shouts raise behind them, but they duck through the people and around the stalls and are out of town long before anyone can catch up.

"Hey!" Sabo yells at him as they barrel towards the tree line. "Do you know where we're going?"

"No!" Ace shouts back, smiling fit to catch bugs with his teeth. There's magic in the wind and his brother at his back. "Why? Does it matter?"

Sabo's laugh is breathless but loud enough, and they keep running.


End file.
